Serb hardliner surrenders to Hague tribunal

Vojislav Seselj, one of the icons of hardline Serb nationalism, surrendered to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague yesterday.

"I'm going to The Hague to win," Mr Seselj said at Belgrade airport before boarding the plane for the Netherlands. "I know I won't be back for a long time," he added.

Mr Seselj is indicted for crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war between 1991 and 1993 in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Vojvodina province in northern Serbia. He is said to have formed "volunteer paramilitary units" to carry out "ethnic cleansing". The indictment is unique in one respect. It says he contributed to the joint criminal enterprise through "incendiary" and "extreme nationalist rhetoric".

He ranked third in a presidential election in Serbia last year, winning a million votes.